GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS has wrapped up Qualifying at GT Festival The Bend, with two different teams and manufacturers securing Pole Position for each race.
Jayden Ojeda secured top spot in an entertaining Qualifying 1 aboard the Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO he shares with Paul Lucchitti, before Liam Talbot guided the Shannons Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 to Pole Position in Qualifying 2.
Renee Gracie put herself in the box seat to win the Am Cup title this afternoon after putting the Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 LMS EVO II on Pole for the class in both sessions – Melbourne Performance Centre teammates Matt Stoupas and Garry Higgon doing the same in the Trophy Class.
Qualifying 1 proved a spirited session as Jayden Ojeda delivered Mercedes-AMG’s first Pole Position of the 2025 season. The New South Welshman set a 1:45.206 on his fifth lap, edging Jaxon Evans in the #26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 by just over a tenth.
Ryan Wood placed third in the session aboard the Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 LMS EVO II, the New Zealander falling just three hundredths shy of Evans. The result ensured three different manufacturers filled the top three positions, underlining the strength and depth of the competition.
Gracie steered her Audi to the top of the Am Class with a convincing margin of six-tenths over title rivals Ben Schoots and Shane Woodman, after Schoots guided the Black Wolf Motorsport Mercedes-AMG to second in the session. Theo Koundouris completed the top three, a further eight tenths adrift in the #47 Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO.
In Qualifying 2, a strategic call to release Liam Talbot well behind the field paid dividends, giving him clear air throughout the session. The Shannons Volante Rosso Motorsport driver set his best lap late in the run, with a 1:47.073 on lap six edging Brad Schumacher off the top of the timesheets by just four hundredths of a second.
Brad Schumacher had looked set to claim pole in the Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 LMS EVO II, having earlier displaced Elliott Schutte in the #26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3. However, Talbot left his charge until the closing stages, producing the decisive lap that secured Pole Position for himself and teammate Jamie Day.
Rounding out the top three was Team BRM’s Mark Rosser in another Audi R8 LMS EVO II, finishing just a tenth behind Schumacher. Schutte ultimately placed fourth, a further four hundredths back, and will line up alongside Rosser and teammate Alex Peroni after being unable to improve his time late in the session.
Renee Gracie delivered another standout performance in Qualifying 2, setting the fifth-fastest time outright with a 1:47.537. Her effort was more than a second clear of James Koundouris, while Shane Woodman finished a further two seconds adrift in the Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG.
Today’s GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS race gets underway at 1:25pm ACST, with Australian viewers to watch on 7plus and international viewers able to watch on the GT World YouTube.